Never Too Old
by Mordmil
Summary: Abigail Flinn is not your average girl. On a routine visit to her clearing, she meets none other than Jack Frost, and they become fast friends. But what happens when Pitch comes and kidnaps Jack? Join Abby as she teams up with the other Guardians to help rescue their fallen friend.


My name is Abigail Flinn, but everyone calls me Abby. I have strawberry blonde hair, brown eyes, and Caucasian skin. I am 17 years old, and at the moment I'm wearing a dark purple winter coat, light blue blue jeans, and brown snow boots. It's mid-winter, and it had just snowed the night before. I'm hiking in the woods behind my house, on my way to my secret area. My safe haven. The place where I can be myself.

My safe haven is a small clearing with a few trees riddled here and there and a small pond. When I arrive, I sit down on a dead log, take off my back pack, and get out all of my drawing supplies.

I start with edge of the pond, which has a couple of big rocks, then I move to drawing the trees in the background, the frozen pond, the snow, and finally, the rising sun. This took a little bit over an hour.

"And last but not least, a dash of sparkles." I say as I take a pinch of sparkles and gently spread it over the pond.

The sparkles makes it look as though the snow and ice are glistening off the rising sun, which is what I see when I look at the actual thing.

I hold the picture away from me and take a good look at it.

"Not too bad, if I do say so myself." I admit.

"Nice picture." Comes a voice from behind me.

"Why thank you-" I say before stopping mid-sentence. I slowly turn around and come face-to-face with a boy with blue eyes and white hair.

"Oh!" I shout in surprise as I fall off of my log and into the snow.

"Ow..." I say, rubbing my head.

"You ok? Here, let me give you a hand." He says as he holds out his hand.

"Thanks." I say as I grab hold and stand up.

"Sorry about that." He says.

"It's ok." I say while brushing myself off.

"Here, you dropped this." He says before picking up my sketch book, "Sparkles are a nice touch." He states.

"Thanks."

He begins to flip through my sketch book and look at the other pictures I have drawn.

"Hey, these are really good! Did you draw them ALL?" He asks.

"Yeah, all right here in this clearing." I answer as he hands me my sketch book.

"They're really nice. Do you come up here often?" He asks.

"Practically everyday." I answer.

"You live around here?"

"Just down the hill," I say, "Hey, I never introduced myself! My name's Abigail Flinn, but people call me Abby."

"Nice name. My name's Jack Frost."

"Really?"

I get a good look at his features. He's about my age, has blue eyes, and white hair. He wears a blue hoodie with snow flake designs, brown pants that are frayed at the bottom, is bare footed, and has a staff in his right hand.

"That's cool!" I say as I sit back down on the log, "Take a seat." I insist.

"Ok." Jack says as he takes a seat next to me.

I'm bubbling with questions, but I try to keep a cool composure.

"So, are you the one who brought us all of this snow last night?" I ask.

"You like it?"

"Heck yeah, no school!"

This makes us both laugh a little.

"So," I begin, "Since you're real, that must mean all the others are real, too, right? Like The Tooth Fairy and all those other guys."

"Oh, sure, we're all real. Santa Clause, The Tooth Fairy, The Easter Bunny, Sandman, everyone. Even The Man in the Moon."

"Really? Now THAT, is cool."

"Yeah, North, Tooth, Bunny, and Sandy, we're all what you call Guardians."

"Guardians? What do you do?"

"We protect the children of the world. I'm the Guardian of Fun."

"What about the others?"

"North's the Guardian of Wonder, Bunny's the Guardian of Hope, Tooth's the Guardian of Memories, and Sandy's the Guardian of Dreams."

"Protecting the world's children from whatever threats there might be. That sounds cool! But what exactly would you protect them from?" I ask.

"About a year ago we had to protect them from Pitch Black."

"Pitch Black?"

"The Boogeyman."

"What did he do?" I ask.

"He made all the kids scared, and they stopped believing in us. Well, all except one. Jamie never stopped believing Heck, he was the first human to see me." Says Jack.

"See you?"

"Before I became a Guardian, I had been invisible for 300 years."

"That sounds...lonely. To be honest I kinda know what that feels like." I admit.

"What do you mean?" Asks Jack.

"I'm a foster kid. When I was 13 years old, my parents went out to eat for dinner. They asked if I wanted to go with them, but I thought they deserved some time together, so I stayed home. According to the police, my parents had been driving home when they were hit by a drunk driver."

"That's horrible!" Says Jack.

"Yeah. Anyway, the next day I was put into a foster home, and that's where I've been ever since. I sometimes get lonely because I don't have any friends, and Glen and Linda are always too busy with the younger kids to pay me any mind."

"I'm...I'm so sorry." Says Jack.

"Hey, it doesn't bother me anymore!" I say, "A few days after I moved in, I found this place and have been coming up here ever since. Here I don't feel lonely anymore. Hey, watch this!" I say as I leap off of the log. I run behind Jack, cup my hands around my mouth, take a deep breath and,

"OW, OW, OWWWWWW!"

Stunned, Jack asks,

"What the-"

"Shh!" I command.

A few seconds later, my howls are answered by howls in the distance.

"Ow, ow owwwwwww." They call back.

"Isn't that cool?" I asks Jack, "There's a wolf pack over there!"

"Aren't you worried they might come over here?"

"Nah, there territory ends someways that away," I say as I point in the direction the howls came from, "And besides, I'm not stupid enough to go looking for a wolf pack. But you should see this place in the Summer! It's alive with activity! There's birds, and squirrels, and, and one time I even saw a doe and her fawn!" I say excitedly. At this point I'm nearly jumping up and down.

"You sure like this place, don't you?" Asks Jack.

"Yeah," I say, a little bit shyly, "I like to think all these animals are like my friends. I love drawing pictures of them."

"Tell ya what Abby. I'll be your friend."

"...You will?" I ask, surprised.

"Don't sound so surprised!"

"Sorry! Sorry! It's just that...wow..." I say, kind of stunned, "The first person who doesn't try to ignore me...and he's Jack Frost! How cool is that?"

"Come on!" He says as he grabs my hand and drags me out onto the frozen pond.

"Wow, Jack, are you insane?! This ice isn't thick enough to be walking on!" I Shout.

"Hey, I'm Jack Frost! With me on the ice, there's no way it'll break!" He assures.

Then he lets go of my hand and begins running circles around me on the pond, while I, on the other hand, am just trying to keep my feet from slipping out from under me.

"Come on, don't just stand there!"

"Hey, I'm wearing snow boots here!"

"Well I'm bare footed!"

"But you've had practice! I've never skated before in my life!"

"It's easy! Just put one foot in front of the other and slide!" Jack instructs.

I slowly take one wobbly step after another. Once I get a little more confidence, I start moving a little faster, and soon I'm skating on the ice like I had been doing it my whole life.

"Hey, now you got it!" Says Jack.

"Haha! Yeah!" I cheer.

We continue this for the rest of the afternoon, occasionally stopping to take a breather. It's only when I accidentally over balance and crash into a snow bank that see the time.

"Haha! That was fun!" I say as I glance at my watch and look at the time, "Oh, no, 6:30 already? I can't believe how much time's gone by! I'm sorry Jack, but I really have to get back! Glen and Linda might be too busy for me, but they'll definitely notice if I don't show up for supper!"

"It's ok."

"Hey, tomorrow's Saturday! Do you want to meet here again?" I ask.

"Yeah!" He exclaims.

"Ok, see ya tomorrow!" I say as I gather up my backpack and run back home.

* * *

What Abby didn't know was that from not too far away, her and Jack were being watched.

"Well, well, well, it seems like Jack has made a new friend," The man says to the horse made of black sand standing next to him, "It seems only right that we introduce ourselves, doesn't it?" He asks maliciously.

* * *

"Glen! Linda! Hello? Anybody here?" I call as I walk through the silent house. I walk into the kitchen to find a sticky note stuck to the fridge.

_Went to a puppet show at the library,  
be back around 8:00. If you get hungry,  
make some ramen.  
_

_-Glen_

I let out a loud sigh as I grab a ramen noodle pack from the cabinet.

I shouldn't be surprised by this. All the other kids are 10 years old or younger, and I, being 17, wouldn't find any interest in watching a puppet show. This isn't the first time I've come home to find it deserted.

When I finish making my ramen, I take it into the living room, sit on the couch, and turn on the t.v. I must have fallen asleep sometime after finishing eating my ramen, because the next thing I know, the front door is opening.

"We're home!" Announces Glen as he steps into the living room. Glen is in his mid-thirties, has a lean build, and scruffy brown hair.

"Say wha?" I ask sleepily, "Oh. Hi."

"Abby, Abby!" Lilly, a 7 year old with curly red hair says shouts as she runs to the couch, "We went to a puppet show!"

"That's cool!"

Just then, Linda, a woman who's also in her mid-thirties, has lead build, and short black hair, walks in.

"Hey, Abby! what did you do while we were gone?" She asks.

"Oh, some stuff. Went to the park, read a book, ate ramen."

Nobody, not Glen, Linda, or the kids, ESPECIALLY not the kids, knows about the clearing except for me, and I guess now Jack, too, but I think I may just keep Jack a secret also.

Just then, the other 4 foster kids, Victoria (6), Sammy (9), Daniel (10), and Chris (8), all run into the living room, and everyone begins talking at once.

"Can I have ice cream?"

"Can we play a game?"

"Look! It's snowing!"

"Can we stay up later tonight since it's Friday?"

Seeing that Glen and Linda are a little bit preoccupied, I head upstairs to the room I share with Lilly and Victoria, also known as Tori. I reach under my bed and pull out a box with a couple of photos of me and my parents. I gently pick up the picture on top, which was taken a couple months before my parents died, that showed me on my dad's shoulders, and my mom standing next to us. We were all smiling.

"Hey mom, hey dad," I say, "I went up to the clearing today. It had snowed last night, and I wanted to draw a picture of the pond with all the snow and ice. When I got done, I got this HUGE surprise! Jack Frost complimented my sketch! And then he told me that Santa Clause, The Tooth Fairy, The Easter Bunny, Sandman, and even The Man in the Moon, are real! It's just like you said, dad, always believe something is true until proven otherwise." I say as I set the picture back inside the box and push it under my bed.

"Alright, everyone up to bed!" I here Linda shout.

"Aww..." Complains all the children. I glance at my alarm clock to see it's 9:00, the time all the kids are supposed to be in bed by. Glen and Linda said that since I'm older I don't have to go to bed this early, but I do anyway, just so it seems fair to the other kids.

I quickly slide under the covers just as Lilly and Tori walk in.

"Night Abby, night T-T-Tori." Yawns Lilly.

"Night." Says Tori.

"Night." I finish.

* * *

The next morning, I wake up at 8:00 a.m. on the dot. After I change into some clean cloths, I go downstairs to find Glen and Linda already at the table. The house is still quiet because everyone else is still asleep.

"Mornin." I greet as I get out a bowl from the cabinet.

"Good morning," Linda and Glen greet, "It sure did snow last night." Says Glen.

"It sure did." I say as I sit while looking out the window with a bowl of cereal.

"If this keeps up, you won't have any school Monday." Says Linda.

"You don't hear me complaining." I say.

"You will be when you have to make up school in the Summer."

"That's what snow make-up days are for."

"So what are you planning on doing today?" Glen asks.

"Going to the park, I guess." That's what I always say when I go up to the clearing.

"Before you go, could you shovel out the sidewalk and driveway?" Asks Linda.

"What am I, your slave?"

"If we ask the kids to do it, it'll turn into a snowball fight." Says Glen.

I let out a sigh, "Fine, I'll do it."

Just then the kids come running down the stairs.

"Look at all the snow!" Squeals Tori, "I wanna play in it!"

"Lets build a snowman!" Shouts Lilly.

"That's boring, lets have a snowball fight! Boys against girls!" Shouts Daniel.

"Lets go sledding!" Shouts Sammy.

"Or we could build a fort!" Shouts Chris.

"Hold on, hold on!" Shouts Glen, "You can do all that, AFTER, you eat breakfast."

In under 20 minutes, we finish breakfast and get geared up to go outside.

"Alright, if you guys have a snowball fight, I am OFF LIMITS!" I shout as I pick up the shovel and thrust it into the snow, "As you can see, I've got snow shoveling duty!"

With this said, it takes me an hour and a half to finish shoveling the sidewalk and driveway, mostly because I had to dodge snowballs. Those kids never listen. Anyway, when I go inside to take a breather on the couch, I end up falling asleep, and I don't wake up again till 12:00, when Linda shouts,

"Lunch time!"

By the time I finish lunch, it's 1:30!

"I'm going to the park!" I shout as I grab my backpack and run out the door.

Of course, instead of going to the park I run into the woods, and I arrive at the clearing in under 3 minutes.

"I'm here! Jack? Where are you? Hello?" I say as I walk around the clearing.

"Maybe he gave up on me and took off..." I say, disappointingly.

I stop and look down at the ground, about ready to turn around and go back home, when...

_THUNK_

I'm hit smack in the back of the head by a snowball!

"Omf!" I cry out in surprise as I stumble forwards. Rubbing the back of my head, I turn around to find, the one and only, Jack Frost, cracking up high up on a tree branch.

"Hey!" I shout.

"Haha! You shoulda seen the look on your face!" Jack says as he glides out of the tree.

"Oh, you are SO going to get it!" I shout as I pick up a clump of snow, smash it into ball, and throw it at him, catching him right in the face.

And so begins our snowball fight. We each take our fair share of snowballs, but after 20 minutes, we both fall flat our backs, laughing.

"Now THAT, was fun." I say.

"It sure was." Agrees Jack.

"Hey, sorry for taking so long too get here. Glen and Linda asked me to shovel out the sidewalk and driveway, which took a liiittle longer than it I thought it was going too take, mostly because I kept getting hit by snowballs, and after I got done with shoveling all the snow-"

"Courtesy of me." Jack cuts in.

"Yes, courtesy of you, I accidentally fell asleep on the couch! And then I had to eat lunch, and THEN I could go."

"Sounds like you've had a busy day so far."

"Yeah, that's one of the reasons I come up here, Jack. To get away from it all. It's so peaceful, with no kids bothering you every 10 seconds."

After a couple minutes of silence, I ask,

"Hey Jack, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"Were you anybody before you were Jack Frost, or were you always just Jack Frost? And if you were somebody, how did you become Jack Frost?"

"No, I wasn't always Jack Frost. Three hundred years ago, I was a human, just like you."

"Really? How did you become Jack Frost?"

"Well, one Winter I was skating with my sister on a lake near Burgess. My sister accidentally skated on a weak patch of ice, and it started to crack. She was really scared, so I told her to pretend we were playing hopscotch. I took three careful steps over to my staff that was laying a few feet away, and then I told her it was her turn. On her third step, I snagged her with my staff and threw her over on the thick ice, but in turn I was pushed back on the thin ice. I, of course, was much heavier than my sister and I fell through. The next thing I remember, it's night, and I'm being lifted out of the ice my the Man in the Moon."

"Wait, so you actually had to die first?" I ask.

"Yes." He answers.

"I'm...I'm sorry. Maybe I shouldn't have asked."

"Hey, it's ok. I'm just glad I saved my sister."

"When did you become a Guardian?" I ask.

"Manny, The Man in the Moon, chose me when Pitch threatened the children. To be honest, I didn't want to first." Admits Jack.

"Really? Why?"

"When Manny revived me, I didn't have any memories of my life before, and the only thing he ever told me was my name. He never told me what I was meant to do, so I guess I was a little mad at him. After I got my memories back, I understood why he chose me, and it was after the Guardians and I defeated Pitch that I officially became a Guardian."

"Cool," I say, "Hey Jack, what are the other Guardians like?"

"Where do I begin?" Starts Jack, "Let's see, there's North. North has a Russian accent. He carries around two swords, and he's really adventurous, but he can also be intimidating if you don't know him. He doesn't really understand sarcasm, and you know how everyone thinks the elves make the toys?" He asks.

"Yeah."

"They don't. The yetis make the toys. The elves mostly cause trouble."

"Really?" I ask, amazed, "That's so cool!"

"I know, right! And then there's Bunny. Bunny is definitely not how you would picture the Easter Bunny. He's 6'1, has a boomerang, and throws very destructive egg bombs. Him and North are constantly arguing about which holiday is more important, Easter, or Christmas. Oh, and if you REALLY want to get under his skin, call him a kangaroo."

"Kangaroo?" I ask.

"Yeah, he hates it!" Chuckles Jack, "Let's see, then there's Tooth. Tooth has thousands of fairies that goes around and collects the teeth. One of them I've named Baby Tooth. Tooth's really cool, though she does have a habit of fantasizing over my teeth."

"Your teeth?"

"Yeah...my teeth," Continues Jack, "Anyway, at her palace she has every child's baby teeth. The teeth hold the most important memories of childhood, and when a child seems lost, Tooth shows them their happiest memories."

"Wow, that's really cool! What about Sandman?" I ask.

"Well, Sandman doesn't talk, but he communicates using images that he makes out of sand. Trust me, you DO NOT want to get on the bad side of Sandy. He's a very good fighter. He can get very annoyed when he can't get our attention, and he has a tendency of taking stuff literally."

"They all sound like really good people."

"Yeah, they're like my family." Says Jack.

"Speaking of family..." I say as I stand up, "It's getting late, and I really need to get back. See you tomorrow?" I ask.

"You can count on it." Jack says as he stands up.

"Oh, I don't think so, Jack." Comes a wicked voice. Upon hearing this, Jack pushes me behind him, saying, "Stay behind me, Abby." While holding out his staff in attack position.

"Why? What's going on? Who said that just now?" I ask, fear rising in my voice.

"Pitch!" Jack shouts, "Come out and show yourself, coward!"

Just then, a tall man, with greyish skin, black hair, and golden eyes materializes from behind a tree.

"Now Jack," Starts Pitch, "Is that anyway to speak to an old friend?"

"We're not friends." Says Jack.

"Aren't going to introduce me to your new friend?" Asks Pitch.

"Stay away from her!" Shouts Jack.

"P-Pitch? I-I thought you said you defeated him!" I stutter.

"Ahh, but fear can only be kept at bay for so long." Says Pitch.

Just then, we are surrounded by horses made of black sand.

"Jack, what are those things?" I ask.

"Nightmares. Listen, I need you to stay calm, ok? These things smell fear."

"Yeah, easier said then done."

The Nightmares charge.

Try as I might to stay behind Jack, we are separated.

I'm backed up against a tree by one of the many Nightmares. I'm terrified. Fear grips my insides, which only seems to make the Nightmare stronger. I see Jack being struck down by Pitch.

"JACK!" I shout as I try to make a break for it. The Nightmare reels around its hindquarters, and the last thing I remember are two hooves heading my way, before complete darkness.

* * *

When I awaken, its night, and the moon is shining. I rub the back of my head to find a golf ball sized lump has formed from where my head made contact with the tree. I slowly stand up as I try to get my bearings. My head is ringing, and from the pain in my stomach, I can only guess there's a good sized bruise from where I was kicked.

"Jack?" I call as I look around.

Nothing. I'm alone. There's no Pitch, there's no Nightmares, everyone's gone. But what's that, over by the pond? I run over. It's Jack's staff! That can only mean one thing. Pitch took Jack.

"Jack..." I say as I kneel down and gently pick up the staff. He's gone. I can't believe he's gone.

"No." I say with determination as I stand up and face the Moon.

"If you can hear me from way up there, It would be much APPRECIATED if you would listen!" I shout before letting out a sigh, "Jack's been taken, and he's one of your Guardians, so doesn't that entitle you to do something? You need to get a message to the other Guardians so they can rescue him! Can you do that? Tell them too get here ASAP, because the more time that goes by, the longer Pitch has to do who knows what to Jack. Well?" I ask, stretching out my arms, waiting for some kind of sign.

That's when something weird happens.

The staff gets colder, and the wind begins to pick up.

I look up, confused, towards the moon.

"What the-WHOA!" I shout in surprise, for the wind had LITERALLY lifted me off my feat.

I'm rocketed into the air, and at break neck speed, carried away from the the woods. Everything becomes a blur. I go over towns, cities, highways, all in a matter of seconds. When I look down, I'm over...the ocean? But that water soon changes to ice, and it gets really, REALLY, cold. There's a fortress in the distance. The wind picks up as I get closer. When it seems that I'm going to crash into the huge doors, they open, courtesy of the wind. I slow down, and soon I am merely bobbing through the air, over...are those things, yetis? I'm drooped down right smack in the middle of the room.

"O-w." I groan as I stand up.

Hundreds of startled yetis are staring at me, along with many baffled elves.

"Jack wasn't kidding about the yetis..." I whisper as I slowly back up.

"And where do you think you're going?" Asks a heavy Russian accent from behind me.

I turn around to find a very tall, very muscular, Santa Clause. He has two swords at his belt, and on one arm there is a tattoo that reads 'Naughty,' and on the other arm a tattoo that reads 'Nice.'

"Uhh, well i uhh...was...umm..." I stumble.

And then he notices the staff.

"Jack's staff. Why do you have it?" He asks.

I take a deep breath and reply,

"Ok, first off, my name is Abigail Flinn, and I have something very, VERY important to tell you. I wish there was an easier way to say this...but...Jack's been kidnapped by Pitch Black."

"Pitch? Pitch ez back?" He asks with a mixture of astonishment and anger.

"Yes, I saw him with my own two eyes. You have to believe me, I would never lie about-"

"It ez ok, Abigail, I believe you." He says as he walks towards what looks like a control consul and twists a lever and then pushes it down. Just then, a flash from outside catches my eye and I look out the window to find the Northern Lights.

"The Northern Lights? I ask, "But what are they-"

"I'm calling the rest of the Guardians here. And when they arrive, you will explain what has happened."

"Ok."

Fifteen minutes later, a hole opens up in the floor, and a 6'1 tall rabbit hops out.

"Ahh, Bunny, it's been a while." Greets North.

"Hey, North." Says Bunny.

"Wow," I whisper," The Easter Bunny!"

That's when Bunny notices I'm there.

"Who's this?" He asks.

"Wait for the others." North replies.

It isn't long till The Tooth Fairy, accompanied by her mini fairies , and Sandman fly through the window.

"Tooth, Sandy, nice to see you!" Greets North.

Like Jack said, Sandy doesn't talk, so instead, he smiles and waves.

"Hi North!" Says Tooth.

"Now," Says North, "I am sure you all are wondering why I have called you here today. Abigail," He says, "Tell us what has happened."

I suddenly feel very small compared to all of the Guardians. You know that feeling you get when you have to give an oral report? Yeah, that's how I feel right now. Everyone is staring at me, and I start to get nervous. But then I look down at the staff in my hands, and then back to the Guardians, and I begin to speak.

"Alright, I'll start from the beginning. My name is Abigail Flinn. I met Jack yesterday when I went up to a clearing behind my house to draw pictures. We talked some and he even took me skating on the ice. When it was time for me to go back home, I asked him if he wanted to meet me again the next day. Well, I guess that would be today. After being delayed by shoveling snow and an unplanned nap, I arrived at the clearing. At first, I thought Jack had given up on me...until he threw a snowball at my head." I say with a grin, "After we had a snowball fight, we laid down in the snow. He told me all about how he became Jack Frost, and all about you guys. When it was time for me to go back home, we stood up. That's when Pitch attacked. He separated us, and the last thing I remember before getting kicked by a Nightmare was Pitch striking Jack down. I woke up a few hours later to find nobody was there. I found Jack's staff, and asked the Moon to send you guys some kind of message to meet me at the clearing. I guess the Moon had other ideas, because he some how made it for Jack's staff to act on its own, and well...here I am." I finish.

The Guardians seem to think about what I said. After a few minutes, Bunny breaks the silence.

"And how do we know that you're telling the truth?"

"Bunny!" Calls North, "We will discuss this as a group."

The Guardians gather into a tight circle and begin whispering. I manage to catch bits and pieces of their conversation.

"Manny would not send her here without reason-"

"We have to find Jack-"

"What if she's lying-"

I slowly lay down Jack's staff on the ground and back out of the room. I continue down a long and spacious hallway until I find a window. I take off my backpack, sit on the sill, and lean my head up against the wall. I carefully retrieve my sketch pad and color pencils from my backpack as to not loose my balance. Just as I am about to press my pencil to the paper, one of Tooth's mini fairies flies in front of my face and lands on my knee.

"Oh...hello there."

"Tweet." The fairy replies back.

"Hey, stay there for a little bit, would ya?" I ask, "I gotta draw a picture of this..." I say before trailing off as I put my pencil to the the paper.

I had just finished adding the little beauty mark beneath the little creature's eye when a voice startles me.

"There you are!" Says Tooth as she looks at my drawing, "Oh, what a lovely picture of Baby Tooth!"

"Thank-Thank you. Wait, did you say Baby Tooth?" I ask.

"Yes. Why?"

"Jack told me how he named on of your mini fairies. Nice to meet you, Baby Tooth!"

"Tweet tweet!"

Thinking about Jack, my smile fades, and Tooth notices.

"Abigail-"

"Abby. Call me Abby."

"Abby, don't worry. We WILL rescue Jack." Reassures Tooth.

"I know, but I can't help but think about how...how useless I was during the whole ordeal."

"I'm sure you tried your best."

"No! I didn't! I cowered up against a tree like a little scardie cat! Jack told me to stay calm, but I couldn't...I just couldn't. Not with that Nightmare, and-and the voices..."

"Voices?" Asks Tooth.

"My parents died in a car crash when I was 13 years old. When that Nightmare came near me, I heard the voice of the policeman telling me my parents had passed away in my head. If that thing's goal was to make me relive one of my most terrible nightmares, then it sure succeeded."

Tooth puts a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

"Abby, I am so sorry about what happened to your parents, but you really shouldn't be blaming yourself about what happened."

"But he was my first friend, and now he's kidnapped! I had spent most of the past 4 years alone, and now there's finally someone that doesn't think I'm a weirdo, and he's taken away! Sometimes...I wonder if I was ever meant to be happy..." I say sadly.

"Of course you are meant to be happy!" Says Tooth, "Everyone is! And what's this about you being weird? I think you're perfectly fine."

"I guess it's mainly because...because I think a little bit differently than everyone else. I never stopped believing in you guys, and I tend to think...outside the box. In other words, I have a tendency to let my imagination run wild sometimes."

"There's nothing wrong with that! If not for your imagination, you wouldn't be able to see us!"

"Well when you put it that way...I guess you have a point." I admit.

"Now with that settled," Begins Tooth, "The rest of the Guardians would like to talk to you."

"Of course." I say as I pack up my stuff.

* * *

"Abi-" Begins North.

"Abby. Call me Abby." I cut in.

"Abby, did Pitch hint anything about where he could have taken Jack?"

We are all in this HUGE room with a globe in the middle that has little tiny lights.

"Not that I heard." I answer.

Just then, Sandy starts waving his hands above his head, and when he has everyone's attention, he forms an image above his head that looks like woods, and then he creates another image next to it that looks like a really, REALLY old bed frame with a hole beneath it.

"An old bed frame in the woods with a hole under it?" I ask, "I'm sorry, but I don't get it."

"He's talking about Pitch's lair." Says Bunny.

"But we know where that is!" Says Tooth, "Why would he bring Jack there?"

Sandy then forms a picture of moving boxes.

"Unless he's moved his hideout." North says when he catches on.

"But where?" Asks Bunny.

"Somewhere dark, somewhere gloomy, and somewhere you would never think to look." I say.

"Oh yeah, that REALLY lowers the number of options." Bunny says sarcastically.

"Just trying to help..." I say quietly.

"Bunny..." North says warningly.

I begin thinking about all the places that are a likely place for Pitch to take Jack, until...

"Wait a minute." I say when an idea hits me smack in the face.

"What ez it?" North asks.

"What if it's somewhere I'D never think to look?"

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is, what if Pitch was watching Jack and I yesterday? I told Jack that the border of this one wolf pack's territory was a few miles away from my clearing. I told him I wasn't stupid enough to go searching the wolves, so if Pitch heard this, he probably thought it was the last place I'd tell you guys to look!"

"That makes sense!" Says Tooth.

"Everyone," Says North, "To the sleigh!"

I follow the Guardians through multiple hallways until we walk through these big oak doors. The room inside is full of activity, with many yetis running around, trying to get everything ready. Just then, another set of doors open up, and eight reindeer come in pulling a sleigh. Usually when you think of Santa's sleigh, you picture something wooden. Not this thing. This sleight has, like, a fighter jet sense to it if you know what I mean.

"Wow..." I say in amazement.

"Everyone in the sleigh!" Commands North.

Bunny gets in, with a somewhat nauseous look on his face, then Tooth, and North. I'm standing by the sleigh but then notice Sandy next to me.

"What is it Sandy?" I ask.

He makes an image of the sleigh, and then points to me. I take a step back.

"You know what, I think I'll leave the rescuing to you. I'll wait here until you guys get back, ok?"

Sandy looks from North and then back to me.

"Abby," North says as he steps out of the sleigh, "Come with me."

* * *

We walk just behind the doors we entered from before we stop.

"What is it?" I ask, "Shouldn't you be going?"

"Abby, you must come with us to rescue Jack." Says North.

"Are you insane? I can't go with you!"

"You want to find Jack as much of the rest of us, no?"

"Well...yeah..."

"Then why not help us?"

"But I have helped you! I've told you what happened, and I've told you where Jack might be, isn't that enough? I can't go fighting Pitch with you guys!"

"And why not?"

"Because you didn't see how useless I was when Pitch attacked me and Jack." I say quietly while hanging my head, "I was just so scared...I couldn't do anything. If I couldn't help Jack then...how could I possibly help you guys now?"

"Because you have something very special inside you."

"And how do you know that?" I ask, looking up.

"Because Manny would not have sent you here for no reason. There ez something that you can do that can help us Abby, whether you know it or not. Will you, Abigail Flinn, help us?"

"Well when you put it that way...I guess so."

"Excellent!" He shouts while reaching for the door.

* * *

We quickly get in the sleigh, and with a crack of the reins, we're off. We go through an ice tunnel that has many twist and turns, and at one point a loop-di-loop. When I look over at Bunny, it looks like he's about ready to throw up.

"You ok?" I ask him.

"Just fine." He answers, though I can tell he's trying really hard not to loose his lunch.

We quickly exit the tunnel and are out in the open. I carefully stand up in the sleigh and look out.

"Wow," I say with wide eyes, "It's amazing up here!"

"Careful." Says Tooth.

"Don't worry, I won't fall out."

"Abby!" Shouts North, "Come up here and join me!"

"Kay!" I shout back.

I grip the side of the sleigh and make my way up next to North who is steering the sleigh.

"What is it?" I ask.

"Look at your feat." He says.

I look down to find Jack's staff on floor next to my feat.

"Jack's staff?" I ask as I pick it up, "But why? I can't use it, only Jack can."

"I know, but I think you should hold on to it while we are in Pitch's lair."

"If you say so."

"I also need you to take this." He says as he hands me a snow globe.

"Uhh, why?" I ask.

"Tell it where we are going and then toss it in front of us."

"Ok..." I say, unsure.

"My clearing." I whisper into the snow globe, and a picture of it appears in the glass.

"Too cool." I say while I stand up and toss it out in front of the sleigh.

A portal opens up and we are quickly sucked in.

* * *

On the other side of the portal are woods. I look below to find the place where this mess all started.

"My clearing!" I shout.

"Now which way do we go?" Asks North.

"Just a couple of miles that way." I answer while pointing in the direction we're going.

After a couple of minutes, I get a glimpse of a wolf den.

"Ok, this the spot!" I shout.

When we land, Bunny all but jumps out of the sleigh, very happy to be back on solid ground.

"I'm guessing air travel isn't your cup of tea?" I ask jokingly while I step out of the sleigh.

"Not on your nelly." Says Bunny.

"How do we find Jack?" Tooth asks.

"We'll start the old fashion way: looking until we find a hole in the ground." I say.

* * *

We split up into different directions. After awhile of searching, I feel a rustling in my backpack, and when I take it off and open it up I find...

"Baby Tooth!"

The little fairy zips out of my backpack and hovers next to my head.

"You silly thing, you stowed away in my backpack!"

"Tweet tweet!" She answers back.

"Well," I say as I sling my backpack over my shoulder, "Since you're here you can help me find Pitch's lair. Let's go!"

I continue going in the same direction with Baby Tooth. The ground gradually starts to turn into a downhill slope. Add that to snow, and you have a very slippery slope, so slippery in fact, I lose my footing and begin tumbling downhill. It seems like forever before I finally stop, and when I do, I'm at the bottom of the hill.

"Ow," I groan as I stand up, "That wasn't fun."

"Tweet!" Baby Tooth says worriedly.

"Don't worry Baby Tooth, I'm fine," I assure her, "Now, let's get back to finding Pitch's...lair...wow..." I say as I trail off, for when I look behind me I find a rickety old bed frame with a hole beneath it.

"That's it, Baby Tooth! We found it!" I shout with glee, "Can you go find the others and lead them here?"

With a tweet and a salute, Baby Tooth flies off, leaving me alone. I carefully edge my way over to the hole and peer inside, to find it as black as the night sky.

"Don't worry Jack, we're comin for you!" I whisper.

About 15 minutes later, Baby Tooth returns, followed by Bunny, Tooth, Sandy, and North.

"So this is it," Says Bunny, "This is Pitch's lair."

"Alright, it ez time to get Jack." Says North.

"And put Pitch back in his place!" Tooth puts in.

Sandy then punches his fist to his palm.

"Lets do this." I say as we enter the hole.

* * *

We didn't go 5 feet until there was trouble.

"Can anybody else see in here?" I ask.

Silence.

"Hello? Anybody?"

More silence.

"Tooth? Bunny? Sandy? North? Anybody? Baby Tooth?"

"Tweet!" Calls Baby Tooth as she hovers next to my ear.

"Baby Tooth! At least I know where YOU are. Here, stay on my shoulder so I know where you are."

With that, she daintily lands on my shoulder.

"Hello! Can anybody hear me!?" I call.

Silence.

"Well," I say to Baby Tooth, trying to mask the fear in my voice, "Looks like it's just you and me."

* * *

I cautiously continue down the tunnel. At this point, I have a death grip on Jack's staff. I think North told me to hang on to it was because otherwise I would be defenseless. I mean, it's no more then an over grown tree branch in my hands, but it's better than nothing.

"Where IS everybody? I was right behind them in when we came in here, but after a few feet, it's like they vanished into thin air! Could they have taken a turn without me seeing? That's possible considering how dark it is. I just hope we find them soon, it's creepy down here!"

I had been walking for a good 40 minutes and I was starting to get somewhat annoyed.

"I don't think this tunnel is ever going to end."

"Tweet tweet." Says Baby Tooth. I'm guessing she agrees, but, you know, I don't speak mini fairy.

Just then I see a dim light up ahead.

"Or, you know, it could end."

As I get closer, I see the tunnel leads to a room. I pause at the mouth of the tunnel and say,

"Well Baby Tooth, here goes nothing."

And with that, I jump into the room.

* * *

The chamber is HUGE. It's dimly lit, but I at least I can see what's inside. There's a globe, not so different from the one North has, in the middle of the room. I cautiously edge my way around the room.

"And I thought the tunnel was creepy..." I whisper.

And it's not just the way it looked that sent me on edge. It's the way it FELT that gave me the shivers. It felt like...like the shadows themselves were watching me. Watching every single move I make. My heart begins racing, and I'm holding Jack's staff so tight my hands are shaking. Just then, I see movement out of the corner of my eye.

"Who's...Who's there?" I stammer as I quickly turn around, fear audible in my voice.

Instead of an answer, I glimpse more movement out of the corner of my eye, but when I turn around to face it, it disappears, then I glimpse it out of my other eye, I turn around, it disappears again. While I desperately try to get a look at what's haunting me, I slowly start backing up to the other side of the room. Then, I hear laughter. Quiet at first, then it begins to grow louder, louder until it's echoing off the walls. I break out into an all out run.

When I reach the other side of the room, a tunnel appears, that I KNOW wasn't there before. I decide to take my chances.

The tunnel is as dark as the first one. They second step I take, there is no ground to step on. I begin falling. I fall only a short distance before hitting an outcropping on the edge of a cliff. I roll off the outcropping and hit an opposing cliff, and then, finally, I hit the ground.

"O-w..." I groan as I pick up Jack's staff and stand up. I notice Baby Tooth still perched on my shoulder.

"You ok?"

"Tweet tweet tweet." She replies back with a nod.

The laughter resumes. I begin running through the canyon at full speed, until out of nowhere comes a dead end. I Turn frantically from left to right until I find another tunnel that seemed to come up out of nowhere. I run until I come up to another dead end,then through another tunnel that seems to materialize from out of the blue. Every dead end I come to, there's another tunnel that forms. I run blindly to get away from the laughter, until finally, I come to a dead end that DOESN'T have a tunnel. I put my hand to the rocky wall, but just then, I hear a groan from behind me.

I turn around to find not the path I came from, but a room, and chained to the wall by his hands that what appears to be black sand...is Jack.

"JACK!" I shout as I run over to him.

Baby Tooth flies off of my shoulder and begins frantically zooming around Jack's head. I kneel in front of him and gently shake Jack's shoulders.

"Jack, Jack can you hear me? It's me, it's Abby, come on, say something!" I cry out.

He groans, but that's all I get. He's unconscious.

"Jack...come on, wake up." I plead.

"He can't hear you," comes a sinister voice from behind.

I turn my head to find Pitch.

"Pitch." I say as I stand up. I take a few steps forward while holding out Jack's staff in attack position.

"Look at you, helping the Guardians rescue one of their own. Tell me, did you come here out of guilt?"

"What...What are you talking about?" I stammer, fear creeping into my voice.

"You can't hide it from me, Abby. Your fear stopped you from helping Jack earlier, and it's stopping you from attacking me now."

"I'm n-not s-scared!"

"Then prove it!"

Two Nightmares come out of the shadows. They continue pass their master until they are a few feet away from me. My knees begin to tremble as the voices sound in my head again.

_"Abigail Flinn..." Says the officer, "I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, but your parents were in a car crash. They didn't make it."  
_

_"They didn't make it."_

_"They didn't make it." The voice echoes._

"Shut up...Shut up...SHUT UP!" I cry, gripping my head.

But then...I hear another voice.

_"Nightmares are only as scary as you make them out to be. If you use your imagination, you can turn the thing you're afraid of into something harmless."  
_

"Something harmless..." I whisper. I slowly take my hands away from my head and look at the Nightmares.

"So tell me Abby. Are you afraid now?" Asks Pitch.

I take a deep breath as I step towards the Nightmares. Then another step, until I'm directly in front of them. I stare directly into their devilish yellow eyes while they snort and stomp. I scrunch up my face in concentration as I quickly force my free hand onto the nearest Nightmare's muzzle.

I picture the terrifying black horse as...a foal. A sweet...little...black foal, that isn't at all scary. I feel the sand shift beneath my fingers, and when I open my eyes, the Nightmare isn't there anymore. I look down to find the black foal I had pictured in my mind.

"What?" Asks a shocked Pitch.

I grin,

"No. I'm not scared, Pitch," I say as I put my hand on the second Nightmare's muzzle. It too, shifts into a black foal, that begins chasing the other one around, "Not anymore."

"But how?"

"A wise man once told me if I use my imagination, I can turn something scary into something harmless, and that's what I did. Your Nightmares are nothing more than two rambunctious foals now. I'm not scared of you, Pitch. I may have been at first, but then I realized something." I say as I take a step, bringing me directly in front of him.

"What?" He asks, taking a step back.

"I haven't been afraid of the Boogeyman since preschool."

I take Jack's staff and swing it into Pitch's side, knocking him down. The two foals come to a halt next to me and I put my hands on their heads and concentrate. Once again, the sand shifts, and when I open my eyes, at my sides are two, snarling, black wolves.

I take a step back,

"Sick'em." I command.

The wolves lunge.

**"NOOOO!"** Pitch shouts as they drag him shadows. The wolves seem to melt away into the darkness, along with Pitch.

"And now that that's over..." I say as I turn around, "Time to free Jack."

I walk back over to Jack and kneel down. I try to tug the sand binding him out of the wall, but to no avail.

"This is getting us nowhere fast," I say as I slump down, defeated, "Any ideas Baby Tooth?" I ask.

Baby Tooth, who was tugging at Jack's hair, trying to get him to wake up, flies to one of the black chains and lays her tiny hand on it.

"I already tried that, Baby Tooth. They won't budge."

"Tweet tweet!" She says, shaking her head.

"Well then what do you...oh...duh!" I say while face palming myself when I get what she's trying to tell me, "Thanks, Baby Tooth!"

I grab one of the chains with both hands and concentrate.

"Ok," I whisper, "The chain is breaking...the chain is breaking...the chain is-yes!" I shout with glee as the black sand binding Jack dissipates, "All right, Now for the other one." I take the second chain into my hands, and the black sand, too, dissipates. Jack is free.

"Yes! We did it Baby Tooth, we did it!" I shout with glee, "Buut, Jack is still out cold. Uhh, no pun intended."

I look around, hoping to find a tunnel that might have magically appeared, but find nothing.

"So Baby Tooth, any ideas about how we're suppose to get out of here?"

Baby Tooth shakes her head.

"Yeah...thought so."

I carefully shift Jack so he's leaning against the wall, then I begin to wander around the room, testing the walls to see if there is a concealed tunnel. After an hour of searching, I give up and take a seat next to Jack.

"So Jack, you planning on waking up anytime soon?" I ask.

Not even a grunt.

"Well, I guess that answers my question."

Just then, I hear a rumbling coming from the wall in front of us. I get up to investigate and find a tunnel has formed. Just to be careful, I grab a rock from the ground and toss it into the tunnel, to find it does indeed have a floor.

"Halleluiah." I mutter as I return to Jack's side. I loop Jack's left arm around my neck and position his staff in my left hand to use as a walking stick to help take on some of the weight. Baby Tooth begins hovering next to my head.

"I don't know where this tunnel leads, but I hope it's out of here and back to the Guardians!" I say as we trudge into the tunnel.

* * *

It had been 2 hours since Baby Tooth, an unconscious Jack, and I entered the tunnel. I swear, I don't think I'll ever be able to stand up straight again after this. Having to lug Jack through a tunnel is hard enough, but having to do it when it starts going UPHILL? That's just going to break your back. I decide to stop for a sec.

"Baby Tooth," I ask, somewhat out of breath, "Can you fly ahead to see if this tunnel reaches the surface anytime soon?"

"Tweet!" Says Baby Tooth, and with a nod of her head, she's off, but she returns sooner then I thought she would.

"Back already? Did you find an exit?"

Baby Tooth vigorously shakes her head.

"Alright, then let's get going!" I say before resuming the uphill trudge.

It turns out, the exit wasn't too far away, I just couldn't see it because there was a curve a few yards ahead, blocking my view. After we get past the curve, I spot the exit.

"There it is!" I shout with glee, "We're home free!"

I pick up my pace slightly, but only slightly, because, well, I still had Jack hanging around my neck. I step out of the tunnel and restrain the urge to lay down in the snow. Instead, I walk a few feet and gently lay Jack down, THEN I fall in the snow.

"YOU'RE WELCOME!" I shout, exasperated, to the Moon.

After a couple minutes of rest, I stand up and look around.

"Ok, so now all we need to do is find the Guardians. Where the heck are they? You don't think they're still in Pitch's lair, do you Baby Tooth?"

Baby Tooth shrugs.

"Oh well," I say as I retrieve Jack's staff and gently sling his arm around my neck, "Better get lookin."

As I turn to walk away, I look back at the tunnel we came out of to find it sealed.

"At least we know Pitch won't be coming out anytime soon."

* * *

Fifteen minutes go by, and I start to get tired again. I try to distract myself by thinking about other things, like for instance...what the heck am I going to tell Glen and Linda? I told them I was going to the park, that was what, 6 hours ago? They probably think I was kidnapped or something! Well, if you considered being flown halfway across the world via staff, kidnapping, then I guess you could say the moon kidnapped me, but still...

"I'm gonna have a lot of explaining to do when I get home-"

"ABBY!"

I look ahead to see Tooth, flying full speed toward me.

"Tooth!" I shout, gleefully.

"Oh, thank goodness you're ok!" Tooth says as she lands next to me, "And you have Baby Tooth! And Jack! Is he ok?"

"I don't know, he was passed out when I found him, and that was a little over 3 hours ago."

"What happened?"

"I'll explain later. Do you know where the others are?"

"They're not too far away. Here, I'll carry Jack," She says as she takes him puts him in her arms, bridal style, "And you can...umm..."

"Follow you. I've been walking and/or running for most of the night. I think I can handle a couple more minutes of it."

"Well, if you're sure, then let's go!"

Tooth takes off and I follow in close pursuit. At first, Tooth went slow enough that I only had to walk to keep up, but then she started speeding up, so I eventually had to start running to keep her in sight. Luckily, we arrive at the sleigh in a little under 5 minutes. I spot Sandy standing beside the sleigh, but he's the only one.

"Hey...Sandy..." I greet as I lean on the sleigh, panting.

Sandy smiles and waves vigorously.

"Sandy, I found them!" Tooth says as she lands inside the sleigh and gently sets Jack down, "Quick, call the others!"

Sandy quickly shoots a volley of sand fireworks into the air.

Barely a few seconds later, a hole appears in the ground, and Bunny jumps out.

"Hey, Bunny." I greet.

"Where've you been?"

"I could be asking you the same thing."

Just then, North comes running up to us.

"Abby! Ez good to see you are alright!" He exclaims while gripping my shoulders, "Where ez Jack?"

"In the sleigh. Pitch did something to him. He's been unconscious for the past 3 hours."

North steps into the sleigh and looks over Jack.

"We need to get him back to the Pole. Everyone, in the sleigh!" He commands.

With a crack of the reins, we're off. I take a seat next to Tooth.

"Is he going to be ok?" I ask Tooth.

"I don't know, Abby. We'll know more when we get back to the Pole."

"What I want to know," Starts Bunny, "Is where the heck you've been for the past 4 hours."

Sandy nods in agreement.

"I'll tell you when we get back to the Pole." I answer.

And just as I say that, we fly through one of North's portals.

* * *

At the Pole, we quickly renter the room we had left from. When we land, North carefully puts Jack in his arms and he and the Guardians rush through the big oak doors. I was a little slower at getting out of the sleigh than them because 1. I had been carrying Jack for the past 2 hours, and 2. The after effects of falling out of that room and hitting the cliff are starting to show themselves, because I was SORE. When I walk through the big oak doors, the Guardians are out of sight.

"Peachy." I mutter.

I walk down many hallways until I find myself in the Globe Room.

"Well, at least I know where I am now, but I still have no IDEA where everyone else is."

But then, as if on cue, Baby Tooth comes flying up to me.

"Baby Tooth! You wouldn't happen to know where everyone is, would you?" I ask desperately

"Tweet tweet!" She says and gestures for me to follow her.

We go across the room and walk up a set of stairs. After walking past many doorways, we finally come to a stop by one labeled, 'Jack's Room.' I peer inside to find Sand, Bunny, Tooth, and North all clustered around Jack's bed, where he lays. I lean against the door frame until Baby Tooth starts tugging on my hair, trying to get me to go inside.

"Alright, alright! I'm going in." I whisper.

I step inside the room, which would probably have to be one of the coldest in the building.

"Hey," I announce, "How's he doing?"

Everyone turns around at once.

"Loads better," Answers Tooth, "Sandy sprinkled a little bit of dream sand over him and he's asleep now."

"So is that why there are little sand dolphins floating over Jack's head?" I ask, gesturing to the golden figures.

North chuckles,

"Yes. Now Abby, take a seat. I'm sure you have much to tell us."

"I sure do," I say as I take an empty seat beside Jack's bed, gently laying his staff down beside him, "Where do I begin?"

"How bout where you disappeared to when we went through the tunnel," says Bunny.

"Me? YOU guys are the ones that disappeared!"

"What are ya talkin about, mate? We hadn't gone more than a few feet in until you up and left."

"Pitch." Says North, "Pitch can control shadows, and the tunnels in his lair. He must have separated us that way."

"That makes sense." I say.

"So what happened next?" Asks Tooth.

"Well, it wasn't long after we had walked that I called out to see if anybody could see, but no one answered. I thought I was alone until I heard Baby Tooth hover next to my ear. We continued down the tunnel for about 40 minutes until walking into the heart of Pitch's liar. It had a globe in the middle of the room. Kinda like yours, North."

"Ez that so?"

"Yeah. Anyway, I carefully stepped into the room. I saw movement out of the corner of my eye, but when I turned to look at it head on, it disappeared! Then I saw it again out of my other eye, I turned around, it was gone again! This happened a couple times until I started hearing...laughter." I say with a cringe.

"Laughta?' Asks Bunny.

"Yeah, and not the jolly kind. I bolt to the other end of the room and run into a tunnel that had just appeared, but instead of having a floor, it lead me straight off of a cliff! After I landed, I made sure Baby Tooth was ok, because she was on my shoulder and she didn't fly off when I fell, but that's when the laughter starts up again. I was terrified at this point, and began running, but I came to a dead end. Another tunnel formed, so I ran through that one, until it too, came to a stop. This happened two or three more times until I came to a dead end that didn't have a tunnel. When I looked behind me, I found I wasn't in a tunnel anymore, but a room, and at the other side of the room was Jack, chained by black sand to the wall!"

At the mention of black sand, a scowl forms on Sandy's face.

"You must not be too fond of Pitch's black sand, are you Sandy."

He vigorously shakes his head, and I continue my story.

"When I knelt down to try and wake Jack up, Pitch came up behind me. I stood up and took a couple steps forward, and he began taunting me. Then, he summoned two Nightmares and I began hearing...voices...again."

"Voices?" Asks North.

"That's another story for another time," I answer, "Anyway, when I started hearing the voices again, I got even more scared, but that's when I heard my dad's voice. He told me something from when I was 4 years old."

"What was it?" Asks Tooth.

"Well, it went something like, 'Nightmares are only as scary as you make them out to be. If you use your imagination, you can turn the thing you're afraid of into something harmless.' When I heard this, I got an idea. I walked right up to one of the Nightmares, put my hand on its muzzle, and imagined it as a little, black, harmless foal, and believe it or not, the Nightmare shifted into it! Then I did the same to the other one. Once the Nightmares were...well...not Nightmares anymore, I wasn't afraid. In fact, I stepped right up to Pitch and hit him with Jack's staff. That felt pretty good."

"Then what happened?" Asks Bunny.

"I turned the foals into wolves and they dragged Pitch away. After that I freed Jack from his chains, after a little help from Baby Tooth, that is. About an hour later, a tunnel formed, and I carried Jack for 2 hours until we finally reached the surface. Tooth found us a couple of minutes later, and then...well, you know the rest."

"So Pitch ez gone?" Asks North.

"Yeah, I don't think he'll be showing his face anytime soon." I assure them, "But what about you, what happened to you guys?"

"We'll, when we lost ya, we just figured you were walking slower than everyone else, so I went back to find ya, but after going about 20 feet, I thought I woulda seen you, so I went back and told the others you musta taken a turn somewhere without us knowing it. We went all the way back to the entrance of the tunnel, without finding another one branching off from it. We didn't have any choice than to keep looking ahead, so we continued back through the tunnel."

"I thought you were the ones who had taken a turn somewhere without me seeing!"

"Anyway," Continues Tooth, "We continued down the tunnel for awhile until it led off into a big room. We entered, we didn't anything a first, but then, after a few minutes, Nightmares seemed to peel themselves from the shadows. We fought them, but no matter how many we destroyed, more seemed to take their place."

"We were beginning to tire," Continues North, "Until suddenly, the Nightmares stopped in their tracks. They looked around, and then they all...dissipated."

"That must have been when my wolves took Pitch away." I state.

"Yes, probably," Starts North, "A tunnel formed, and we went through, though it only took about an hour for us to reach the surface, not two."

"Luckies..." I complain.

"You must have been deeper underground, mate. Tough luck." Jokes Bunny.

"When we surfaced, we figured you found your way back as well, so we started searching, and well..." Tooth says, then quotes, "You know the rest."

"I su-su-sure do." I say, stifling a yawn.

"You need rest." Says North.

"Do n-n-not..." I say before trailing off, for Sandy had blown a handful of dream sand in my face, and I had drifted off to sleep.

* * *

I awaken to a bunch of noise coming from downstairs, and without even opening my eyes, I mutter,

"Sounds like the kids are up...wait a minute..."

My eyes shoot open when I realize I'm not at home. I quickly sit up when I realize 2 things, 1. There's sunlight streaming in through the window, and 2. It's morning. I see that my boots are next to my bed and slip them on. I walk to closed door, open it, and stick my head out.

"Ok, not everyday you wake up to yetis building toys...then again, it's not everyday that you wake up in the North Pole." I state.

I step out the door and spot a staircase leading to the ground level. when I reach the bottom of the stairs, I run into North.

"Abby! You are awake! I was just about to check on you. Are you hungry?" He asks.

"Uhh, no, I'm alright, thanks," I reply, "Where's everyone else?"

"Tooth went back to Tooth Palace. She can direct her fairies better from there, but she will be back later, Bunny went back to the Warren, but will also be back later, and Sandy ez right behind you."

I turn around to indeed, find Sandy.

"Oh. Hey Sandy. Why'd you stay?" I ask.

Sandy forms an image of Jack sleeping.

"Just in case something were to happen to Jack?"

He nods.

"Oh, well that's good. So how is he, anyway?"

Sandy forms three Z's, descending in size, above his head.

"Still out like a light, huh? Can't exactly blame him. Hey North, do you need any help around here? If you need anything colored, I'm your girl."

"There ez always something to do around here!" He shouts joyfully, then turns around and points to one of his workers, "Do you see that yeti over there?" He asks.

"The grumpy one that's painting toy robots from yellow to green? Yeah I see him."

"I'm sure he would appreciate some help."

"I'm on it!" I say as I make my way over to the yeti.

"Would you like some help painting?" I ask as I approach.

"Warptup? Ark!" He replies.

"Ok, I'm guessing that means yes."

He nods his head.

"Alright," I say as I pick up a paint brush and a robot, "Let's get painting!"

So for the rest of the morning, I help a yeti paint robots. When we get done, it's around 12:00.

"Hey, we're all done!" I say as I set down the last robot.

"Larkup!" Cheers the yeti.

Just then, Baby Tooth comes out of nowhere, tweeting excitedly.

"Tweet tweet, t-tweet tweet tweet tweet!"

"Wow, what is it Baby Tooth?"

She begins tugging at my sleeve and pointing to Jack's Room.

"Jack,'' I say, "Is he awake?"

Baby Tooth vigorously shakes her head.

"Alright, let's go!" I shout as I run towards the stairs.

* * *

I lean up against the door frame,watching North, Sandy, Tooth, and Bunny (Who I'm guessing had just arrived,) fuss over Jack, who was groggily sitting on the edge of his bed, rubbing his eyes.

"How ya feelin, mate?" Asks Bunny.

"I've been better." Replies Jack.

Baby Tooth begins buzzing around Jack's head.

"Tweet tweet!" She says, happily.

"Hey, Baby Tooth." Greets Jack.

"What happened?" He asks, "I remember fighting Pitch, but then he knocked me out, and Abby...wait, what happened to Abby?"

"Calm down, Jack," Says North, "Abby ez fine."

"In fact, Abby's the one who rescued you from Pitch's lair." Says Tooth.

"Really?"

Sandy nods, then points at me.

"Huh?" I ask, dumbly, when I see everyone's staring at me.

"Abby?" Jack asks, squinting a little. I guess he still has sand in his eyes.

"Uhh...hi Jack." I greet.

"Don't just stand there, mate, get in here!" Says Bunny.

"Ok, ok, I'm coming."

I come in and take a seat next to Jack's bed.

"Sleep good?" I ask.

"Not at first." He replies.

"What do ya mean?" Asks Bunny.

"At first I had nightmares. Most of them were about my sister being in danger, and me not being able to save her."

"That sounds rough." I say.

"Yeah, and then at some point I start dreaming about dolphins."

"That would be after Sandy sprinkled dream sand on you." Says Tooth.

"So," Starts Jack, "Are you gonna tell me what all happened while I was gone, or am I gonna have to guess?"

"Keep your hoodie on, mate, we'll tell you."

"Yes, and what a long story it ez. "Says North, "Abby, why don't you start us off?"

"Ok," I begin, "When I woke up after getting kicked by a Nightmare, it was dark out, and..."

It took close to an hour to finish the whole story. Mostly because we took a break to have lunch when we reached the middle. Haha.

"I just have one question." Jack says once we finish.

"What is it?" I ask.

"How did you manage to change Pitch's Nightmares into foals, and then into wolves?"

"Uhh...I don't know, I guess I just pictured them as foals and wolves."

"But HOW?"

"Well, break a Nightmare down, Jack. It's basically a big, scary, devilish, yellow-eyed horse. Make it smaller and take away some of its more frightening features and you get a foal. I guess I turned them into wolves the same way I turned them into foals. I used my imagination. I use to do the same thing when I had bad dreams as a kid."

"Like what?" Asks Tooth.

"Well, when I was four, I had a dream where my mom, dad, and I were in the backyard, and then all of a sudden, these two HUGE eagles flew up and snatched my parents away. When I woke up, I was really scared, so I ran into my parent's room and woke my dad up. He told me to imagine the eagles as something else, so I imagined them as tiny parakeets, and the last time I checked, parakeets can't carry people away."

"Parakeets?" Asks Jack.

"Hey, I was FOUR, ok?"

Just then, North snaps his fingers,

"Your center!" He exclaims.

"I'm sorry, my what?" I ask, very much confused.

"Your center," Says Jack, "That one thing inside you that makes you who you are."

"Ok...doesn't really explain much, but ok..."

"Don't you see it, Abby?" Asks North.

"Not really..."

"Why Manny sent you here! It's because of what you are able to do!"

"Huh?"

"Oh, I see! I see!" Says Tooth.

"Now I get it." Says Bunny.

Sandy nods his head and smiles.

"I'm sorry, but I literally have no idea what you guys are talking about..."

Jack begins rubbing his chin, then says,

"I get it," Says Jack as he notices my confused expression, "Still not getting it?"

"It would help if you would tell me what it is exactly I'M SUPPOSED TO GET."

"Abby," Begins North, "When you were facing Pitch and his Nightmares...what were you feeling?"

"I was scared, well, at first anyway. It was just me, against Pitch a two Nightmares, after all."

"And how did you over come your fear?"

"I imagined the Nightmares as something less frightening. When I did this, Pitch didn't scare me anymore."

"Yes, that's right! And your center is..." He says, trailing off, waiting for me to pick up what he's saying.

It takes me a second, but I understand what he's trying to hint at.

"Imagination." I finish.

"Yes!" Exclaims North, "Because using your imagination, you were able to over come Pitch, and free Jack from his chains."

"Yeah, I get it, I think outside the box, but why would Manny take notice of this?"

"He was testin, ya mate. He wanted ya to come with us to get Jack."

"Testing me for WHAT exactly?"

Instead of answering, they all stand up.

"Follow us." Instructs North.

"Should I be worried right about now?"

"Don't worry, Abby, everything's going to be fine." Assures Tooth.

"Yeah, trust us Abby, you're gonna like this." Says Jack as he pushes me on out the door.

I follow them out of the room, down to the bottom floor, and in front of a large window that is facing the Moon.

"Ok. Still not entirely sure about what's going on here..."

"I suggest you move off that tile." Says Bunny.

I look down to see that I'm standing on a blue, circular tile with a 'G' engraved on it.

"Well ok then." I say as I step off.

When I step off, a moonbeam shines down on the tile, making it open up and draw out a crystal.

"Cool..." I whisper.

But the Moon isn't done yet. The crystal projects an image, and it doesn't take long to put two and two together.

"A-A Guardian?" I ask, somewhat amazed, "He wants me to be a Guardian?"

"I believe that ez what he is telling you," Says North, "But it is your choice, you do not have to."

"I would be like you guys, right?" I ask, "I would protect kids from creeps like Pitch?"

"Yes." Says Tooth.

"Then it would be my honor."

"Abby," Say Jack, "Being a Guardian...you'll be immortal, as in you'll forever be stuck as a 17 year old. No one is forcing you to do this."

"I know," I answer back, "I WANT to do this, and not only because it's cool, but because it's something that feels like I was meant to do. But first, I have to do something."

"What?" asks Bunny.

"My foster parents, Glen and Linda, must be REALLY worried about me. I need to tell them what's going on, and I need to tell them what's going to be happening to me, most importantly," I continue, "I need to tell them not to worry."

"They're adults, Abby," Says Bunny, "They won't believe you."

"I'll can get them to! I know I can!" I turn to North, "Please?"

"Of course." He answers.

"Ok," I say as I turn to Bunny, "Can you make a tunnel to my house?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, Jack, can you come with us?"

"Sure."

"Alrighty then, Bunny, it's time to go."

"Ok then," He says as he grabs me and puts me on his back, piggy back style, "Hang on."

And with a thump of his foot, a tunnel appears, and he jumps in, with Jack in hot pursuit.

* * *

One thing's for sure, Bunny's tunnels are a heck of a lot more inviting than Pitch's, what with the little Easter eggs riddled here and there, and the fact that you can actually SEE. Anyway, we were out of the tunnel and in front of my house in a matter of seconds. When we arrive, I look at my watch to see that it's 4:00 in the afternoon, so everyone should be home.

"Well," I say as I step off of Bunny, "Here goes nothing."

I open the door and step inside, closely followed by Bunny and Jack.

"I'm home!" I shout.

Let the chaos begin.

All at once, everyone comes running into the hallway from what seems like all corners of the house. Everyone stares wide-eyed at me, and Linda is clearly trying to hold back tears.

"Abby!" Glen exclaims as he steps forward, "What happened to you? We though you were kidnapped! Where have you been?!"

"Uhh...would believe me if I said I was at the North Pole with The Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, Sandman, Santa Clause, and Jack Frost?"

"Oh!" Cries Linda as she embraces me in a hug, "You must have been hit in the head!"

"Was not," I say as I break away from her hug, "I really was with all those guys! The Easter Bunny and Jack Frost are even with us right now! They're right behind me!"

I kneel down in front of Tori, who had been staring at Bunny ever since she had come in the hallway.

"Tori, can you tell everyone what the Easter Bunny looks like?"

"Um..."

"It's ok, go ahead."

"He's tall. Really tall."

"Bunny," I whisper, turning my head, "Say something!"

"Hey, ya little ankle bita." He says.

"He has an Australian accent! And he just called me an ankle biter!" She says excitedly.

"Honey," Says Linda, "Maybe you need some rest..."

"Please, you can't see him because you don't believe in him! Have an open mind! Trust me, you won't regret it!"

"The Easter Bunny..." Lilly says, amazed.

"Wow..." Sammy, Daniel and Chris say at the same time.

"Glen, Linda, please! Believe in him!"

Just then, Glen rubs his eyes.

"I must be seeing things," He says as he blinks really hard, "Because there's a 6 foot kangaroo in my house."

"I'm...a...BUNNY, and for you information, I'm 6'1."

"Oh my..." Linda says as she takes a step back.

"Alright, now that I got you all seeing Bunny," I say as I stand up and turn around, "Jack, make it snow!"

"You got it." He replies, and with a wave of his staff, snowflakes begin to fall from the ceiling.

"Cool..." Daniel says in amazement when he sees Jack, "It's Jack Frost!"

"Incredible..." Whispers Glen.

"I can't believe it..." Says Linda.

"Did you bring all the snow that made us have a snow day?" Asks Lilly.

"Sure did." Answers Jack.

"Awesome!" Exclaims Sammy and Chris.

"And now that I've got you all on seeing terms with these two...I have something else to tell you." I announce.

"What, that the Boogeyman is real, too?" Asks Glen, jokingly.

Jack, Bunny, and I look from one to the other nervously,

"Well...actually...he is, but you don't have to worry!" I assure Glen and Linda when I see their horrified faces, "He won't be showing his ugly mug anytime soon. No, what I wanted to tell you is that...I won't be staying."

"What do you mean?" Asks Linda.

"You see..." I begin, "Bunny, Jack, Tooth, or the Tooth Fairy, North, or Santa Clause, and Sandy, or Sandman, are all what you call Guardians, and they were all chosen by the Man in Moon."

"What are Guardians?" asks Tori.

"Well, they protect you guys from people like Pitch."

"Pitch?" Asks Daniel.

"The Boogeyman. Jack's the Guardian of Fun, Bunny's the Guardian of Hope, North's the Guardian of Wonder, Tooth's the Guardian of Memories, and Sandy's the Guardian of Dreams."

"What does this have to do with you?" Asks Glen.

"Well, Manny offered me to become a Guardian, too, and I plan on accepting."

"But Abby," Pleads Linda, "You're only 17!"

"I know, but this is something I want to do! I want to help kids not be afraid!"

"Abby," Starts Glen, "Are you thinking of yourself when you say that?"

He caught me.

"Yes," I admit, "When my parents died, I was so...scared, of what was going to happen next. But then, I found that clearing in the woods, and all my fears just...went away. That clearing helped me use my imagination to fight my demons, but not everyone has a place like that, or doesn't know how to use their imagination to fight fear. Do you see where I'm getting at?"

After a slight pause, Linda answers.

"Yes."

"Don't worry, Mrs...uhh...Mrs..." Starts Jack.

"Mershall."

"Mrs. Mershall, we'll take care of her."

"Is Jack your boyfriend?" Asks Daniel.

"Depends, is Katie Ruesman your girlfriend?"

Katie Ruesman is a girl in Daniel's class who I've seen him play with at the park.

"Eww, no! She's my friend!"

"Well ok then, that means Jack is my friend, too."

"Ok..." Daniel says, slightly embarrassed.

"Anyway, so don't worry about me, ok? I'm gonna be just fine."

"Wait, so who is this Moon fellow turning you into?" Asks Glen.

"I'm not asking you to believe in the person I'm going to be turning into, but it would be nice for you all to have an open mind." I say with a wink.

"Oh, don't worry," says Linda, "From this day forward, my mind is going to be WELL open."

"Goody," I say, "So can I get one last hug before I go?"

We all, including the kids, embrace in a hug, which lasts for about 5 minutes.

"Ok," I say as I break away, "See ya when I see ya."

"Wait!" Tori cries.

"What is it?"

"What if, when we get older, we stop believing? What will happen?"

"Tori," I say as I kneel down next to her, "We all grow up at some point, and stop believing in legends like the Easter Bunny-"

"You didn't." She cuts in.

"Yeah, but, well...I was a weird case. I believed in them because no one had proven otherwise that they didn't exist. But anyway, know that even if you guys can't see me, I'll always be looking out for you," I say while poking her chest, "So behave! I don't want to have to tell North to put you on the Naughty List!"

With one last hug from Tori, I stand up.

"Alright," I say as I back up until I'm next to Bunny and Jack, "Later gators."

And with a tap of his foot, a tunnel forms, and Jack, Bunny, and I jump through.

* * *

A few seconds later, we arrive back at North's Workshop.

"Omf!" I grunt as I land on the floor, a little less the gracefully.

"So," North says as he picks me up and sets me on my feat, "Have you gotten everything worked out?"

"Yeah, everything's cool." I answer.

"Are you ready?" Asks Tooth.

"About as ready as I'm ever going to be. What am I supposed to do, anyway?"

"You just let Manny do all of the work." Says Bunny.

"Is this going to hurt?"

"Not at all." Answers Tooth.

"Alright," I say, taking a deep breath, "Let's do this."

Without warning, a moonbeam shines on me, making it so I have to close my eyes. A tingle spreads over my body, along with a sudden warmth. I don't know how much time had past once the tingling stops, but when I open my eyes, everyone is staring at me.

"What?" I ask.

"You MAY want to look in a mirror." Says Jack.

Just then, a yeti rolls up a mirror.

"Wow..." I whisper in shock when I look at myself.

Talk about a makeover. My dark purple winter coat has been replaced with a light green tank top, that is tied in knots at the straps, and is slightly frayed at the bottom. Instead of blue jeans, I have a skirt made of overlapping leaves that ends slightly before my knees, and brown leggings that end slightly past my knees, and I'm barefooted. My eyes that used to be brown are now bright green, and my strawberry blond hair is now light blond with green streaks. I also have little oval shaped leaf earrings. In my right hand is a 4 foot wooden staff with green orb at the top. It starts out thin at the bottom, but then thickens as it lengthens, and also has two vines wrapping around it. I give it a slight twirl and find it...amazingly light.

It's not hard to guess who I'm supposed to be.

"Mother Nature." I state.

"Yeah, kinda obvious." Says Jack.

"And now," North says as a yeti hands him a big, thick, book, "You are to be sworn in."

"Ok."

He clears his throat,

"Do you, Mother Nature, vow to watch over the children of the world, to guard them with your life, their hopes, their wishes, and their dreams, for they, are all we have, all that we are, and all that we will ever be."

I look over at the others and they all nod.

"I will."

"Then congratulations, Mother Nature, for you are now, and FOREVER MORE, a Guardian."

At this point, the elves begin playing a fanfare, and everyone starts cheering. After this dies down, Jack comes up to me.

"Welcome to the Guardians, Nature."

"Ok, being called Nature's going to take a while to get use to."

"Oh, it's so wonderful that you're a Guardian!" Tooth says as she flies over and gives me a hug.

"Welcome to the club, mate." Says Bunny.

Sandy holds out his hand.

"Why thank you, Sandman." I say as we shake.

"Bravo!" North says as he picks me up and kisses me on both cheeks.

I start fiddling with my right earring, and accidentally tug it off.

"Whoops..." I say, but the leaf earring regrows.

As I hold the leaf in my hand, it begins to grow until it's a little bigger than my foot.

"Hmm..." I say, getting an idea.

I do the same with my other earring, wait for the leaf to meet the same size as the other, then put one under each foot.

"Hey, somebody would catch me if I happened to fall, right?" I ask.

"But of course." Says North.

"Good." I say as I leap into the air.

But instead of falling, I stay airborne. I take one shaky step forward, then another one, then another one, until it's like I'm skating on air. I begin to go faster.

"Well," I shout as I head for an open window, "I'm outa here!"

"Wait!" Shouts Jack, "Where are you going?"

"To spread imagination to kids everywhere! I'm the Guardian of Imagination, aren't I? Later gators! I'll see you on the flip side!" I say as I depart.

* * *

My name is Abigail Flinn, also known as Mother Nature. I'm friends with the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman, Santa Claus, and Jack Frost. I have a tendency to think outside the box, but since when is that a bad thing? Because the way I see it, the more you use your imagination, the more you'll fun you'll have.

* * *

**Ok, so I know this is really, REALLY long, but for some reason I didn't think about breaking this story into chapters until after I was 3/4 of the way done, so, yeah...anyway, I was thinking about making a prequel about Abby (with chapters), and maybe a sequel, too (also with chapters). What do you guys think? Leave your answer in a review. Mordmil, out!  
**


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